Hospital gown having fitting means

ABSTRACT

A hospital gown has portions thereof encircling a wearer&#39;&#39;s body which bear a cohesive-adhesive material to enable an adjustably snug fit.

United States Patent 1191 Zoephel Nov. 25, 1975 15 HOSPITAL GOWN HAVINGFITTING [52] US. Ch] 2/51; 2/338; 2/DIG. 7 [51] Int. Cl} A41D 13/00 [58]Field Search 2/49 R, 50, 51, 76, 80, 2/161, I14, 2l1, 220, DIG. 7, 338;156/183;

[ References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,598,173 5/1952 I-Iumphner156/183X 2,622,246 12/1952 l-lufnagel 2/49 R 2,646,571 7/1953 Terry2/211 2,900,640 8/1959 I-Iaydu... 2/49 R 3,218,649 11/1965 Ricterm,2/DIG. 7 3,490,072 1/ 1970 Keltner... 2/DIG. 7 3,574,864 4/1971 Bradley2 114 3,639,917 2 1972 Althouse 2/DIG. 7 3,696,443 10/1972 Taylor 2/DIG.7 3,745,587 7/1973 Bradley 2 114 3,824,625 Green 2 114 PrimaryExaminer-Werner HI. Schroeder Attorney, Agent, or FirmBeverly A.Vandenburgh [57] ABSTRACT A hospital gown has portions thereofencircling a wearers body which bear a cohesive-adhesive material toenable an adjustably snug fit.

6 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures U.S. Patent Nov. 25, 1975 Sheet 101-2 Sheet2 of 2 3,921,221

US. Patent Nov. 25, 1975 I HOSPITAL GOWN HAVING FITTING MEANS BACKGROUNDOF THE INVENTION Surgical or obstetrical procedures present problems todoctors and other hospital personnel because of the requirement thataseptic conditions be maintained prior to and throughout the procedures.One constant problem has been the aseptic gowning of doctors and nursesin preparation for a surgical procedure. In this regard, the problem ofclosing or fitting the gown has been troublesome. Another currentproblem is the availability of an isolation gown for hospital use thatis inexpensive, disposable and easily put on end and adjustably fittedto the wearer.

Normally, a doctor dons a back-closing operating room gown by puttinghis hands and arms into the sleeves thereof and the gown is pulled uparound his body so that it will close in back. Usually some type offastening means holds the gown closed near the back of the wearers neck.This has sometimes been a tie strip sewn or otherwise fastened, as bytaping, for example, to each neck edge of the gown, with an extendedlength for tying for comfortable fit. These tie strings hang free andmay touch a non-sterile area and become contaminated. They also mayrequire an assistant to secure. A Velcro strip has been employed onfacing edges of the neck opening. The wearer then presses the Velcroportions together for a good fit. There is less danger of contaminationwith a strip of Velcro but the cost is often prohibitive, especially inthe case of disposable gowns.

Provision is also made to close the main body portion of the gown aroundthe wearers body at waist level. This controls the gown material,preventing it from flapping into the zone of operation, bunching, orotherwise interfering with the wearer or persons around the wearer.Traditionally both in surgical gowns and isolation gowns some sort ofbelt has been employed for this purpose. The belt extends around to theback of the wearer and consequently, if aseptic conditions are to bemaintained, an assistant applies the belt around the doctor or otherwearers body. Belts unattached to the gown have been utilized in thepast. This requires the handling of two separate items, the gown and thebelt, and increases the problem of maintaining aseptic conditions due tothe relative ease of accidentally dropping the belt during the beltingprocedure, etc. More recently a belt folded a plurality of times orrolled throughout a portion between its two ends and positioned within ahousing or casing-like holder of the gown has been used. See forexample, Hartigan, U.S. Pat. No. 3,648,290. While eminently moredesirable than a separate belt, the Hartigan type of belt requires thatsome sort of housing arrangement be provided to avoid having the beltunfold or unroll and flap about, thereby causing a possiblecontamination problem. There is, of course, additional cost inmanufacturing and applying this type of belt.

A further area where a close fit in hospital gowns is desired, orrequired for maintenance of sterile conditions, is the cuff area. Adoctor puts on surgical gloves which must fit snugly over the sleeve ofthe gown. For aseptic purposes the sleeves must not slip'out of thegloves. To this end, most operating room gowns have a stockinette typecuff stitched to the lower portion of the sleeve for gathering thematerial and forming a snug-fitting wrist portion. Any manufacturingprocedure whereby a separate piece is stitched on a gown 2 adds to thecost of the gown, and this obviously is a disadvantage of thestockinette type cuff.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides animproved means for adjustably fitting areas of hospital gowns,especially operating room gowns. Briefly, the invention utilizes wovenor nonwoven portions of elastic or inelastic fabric coated orimpregnated with, or otherwise bearing, a cohesive-adhesive materialwhich has affinity only to itself. By a cohesive-adhesive material Imean a material which, after being attached to a surface or substrate,has affinity only for itself and consequently has little or no tack forsurfaces other than those similar to itself. Examples of such materialsare crepe rubber and latex rubber. Generally, cohesive-adhesivessuitable for use include aqueous emulsions or solvent solutions ofrubber base adhesives. natural or synthetic. Certain acrylic basepressure sensitive adhesives can also be used, provided they are capableof adhering to or have an affinity for bonding only to themselves. Thecohesive-adhesive material may be brushed on, or the fabric submerged ina bath of the cohesive-adhesive material and thereafter pressed throughrollers and dried. Other methods of incorporating the material into oron the fabric may be utilized. With pulling pressure over and above thestress which would be put upon a hospital gown in normal usage, surfacesbearing cohesive-adhesive which have cohered together can be releasedthereafter re-cohered.

By the use of my invention closure and close fitting of all areasdesired to be adjustably fitted on a hospital gown can be achievedquickly, easily, inexpensively and without danger of contamination. Noadditional pieces need be stitched to the gown.

The areas which encircle parts of a wearers body and which have aplurality of portions bearing cohesiveadhesive material may beinter'gral with the material of which the gown is constructed.Alternatively, strips bearing the cohesive-adhesive material can beaffixed to the areas of the gown where closure and fitting is desired asby taping, etc. Any woven or nonwoven fabric recognized in the art asappropriate for the manufacture of operating room gowns or drapes, e.g.paper, plastic, cotton fabrics, nonwoven reinforced fabrics, etc. can betreated to have the cohesive-adhesive material in the area desired. Ifstrips are used, it is not required that they be of the sameconstruction material as the remainder of thegown so long as they aresecurely affixed thereto.

An important feature of my invention is that the cohesive-adhesivematerial is elongated in the direction of encirclement of the portion ofthe body required to be fitted. Thus, when a wrist is being fitted, thedirection of elongation is circumferentially of the wrist; when thewaist is being fitted, the direction of elongation is circumferentiallyof the waist; etc. By elongation I mean to say, and my inventionrequires, thatthe width of the surfaces bearing the cohesive-adhesive,in the direction of encirclement of a portion of a wearers body, is atleast several times the width that would be required merely to affix twoportions of the gown area to each other at the margins. This is anabsolute requisite in order to be able to obtain the result ofadjustably fitting to the wearers body as discussed herein. Generallythe width of the surfaces bearing the cohesiveadhesive will be at leastabout one-fifth of the distance encircled by the areas of the gowncontaining the surface.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a gownhaving one embodiment of the waist fitting means of the invention,showing the crimped or pleated end portions and a preferred attachment;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary view similar to FIG. 1 and showing the endportions of the waist fitting means of FIG. I pulled out in an extendedposition to enable the wearer to encircle the waist therewith;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are front elevational views illustrating the sequence ofsteps in closing the waist area of a gown in accordance with theembodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of a gown showing an alternative formof waist fitting means of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a rear elevational view of another alternative waist fittingmeans of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a rear elevational view of the embodiment of the inventionshowing the adjustable neck closure;

FIG. 8 shows a portion ofa gown, including the lower sleeve portion andarm of the wearer, and showing the wrist snugging means of theinvention;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary view of the sleeve and shows one embodiment ofthe wrist snugging means of FIG. 8 prior to placement of a wearersgloves;

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary view of the sleeve end showing anotherembodiment of the wrist snugging means of FIG. 8 prior to placement of awearers gloves; and

FIG. 11 is a view, partially broken away, of the embodiment of FIG. 10,with the glove on the wearer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION In utilizing my invention the waist closure areamay comprise an elastic or inelastic belt, or strip, of woven ornonwoven material sufficiently long to fit about the midsection of awearer, with ample length to spare for ease of fit around various-sizedwearers. A plurality of portions thereon defining surfaces, or all ofthe belt carry a cohesive-adhesive material, such as crepe rubber. Froma production standpoint it is most often desirable to coat or impregnatethe entire length of the belt or strip. However, for the purposes of myinvention, it is sufficient if the end portions of the belt or strip aretreated to bear the cohesive-adhesive at least on facing portions whenoverlapped. The end portions should constitute at least one-fifth of thelength of the belt or strip. A portion of the strip is securely attachedto the gown to make it integral therewith. This attachment is at aboutwaist level on the gown and intermediate the end portions. A convenientpoint for attachment in this instance is at the side area of the gown. Ahalf-belt can be used having one end portion for pulling around awearers waist, with that end portion bearing cohesive-adhesive on atleast the inside face thereof. In that instance the other end of thehalf-belt is firmly attached to the gown to make it integral therewith.This attachment can be at any convenient area on the gown, at aboutwaist level, so long as the attachment is on the overlapping margin ofthe gown.

The end portions of the belt (or portion if a half-belt is used) arethen folded back upon themselves and pressed together, or gatheredtogether and pleated or crimped by means of the portions bearingcohesiveadhesive being brought into contact with each other to form acohesive bond. The belt length is thereby decreased sufficiently thatthe ends do not hang down much below about waist level when the gown ispicked up by a wearer for donning purposes. When used, the wearer pullsout only so much of the excess circumferential material of the strip asis required for a close fit and coheres the strip as by bringing the endportions or lengths into cohering contact. The remainder of the strip,if any, remains pressed or gathered together, thereby maintaining theclose fit.

For ease of use by the wearer, the tip end portion at any free end ofthe strip may be constructed and positioned that the wearer has notrouble picking up the end and pulling the folded or gathered portion ofthe belt to its extended or partially extended position for fittingaround the area of the wearers body being encircled. For example, thistip end portion may be completely free of cohesive-adhesive, may have atab-like cover portion thereover and removable if desired, or may befolded back upon itself slightly to form a tab for pulling.

Alternatively, the area encircling a gown wearers waist in a gown whichis longitudinally closable by a first marginal portion overlapping asecond marginal portion may have a plurality of portions bearingcohesive-adhesive that extend circumferentially from the first marginalopening or portion of the gown to the second marginal opening or portionof the gown sufficiently so that when pressed together into coheringcontact the area encircling the waist is closely fitted to the wearerswaist. The portions may be cohered to some predetermined degree prior tothe wearer donning the gown. In this instance the putting on of the gownmay release some of the plurality of portions of coherence sufficientlyto fit about the wearer without releasing the remainder of the portions.The wearer and/or an assistant can then re-cohere certain of theplurality of portions to provide a close fit which will remain so fitteduntil it is desired that the fit be released.

To make sure the back margin of the gown is closed at about the waistarea, the portions bearing cohesiveadhesive may be on both sides of thegown at at least the margin areas or, alternatively, a marginal edge maybe folded over sufficiently to insure a closure when the portions arepressed together with cohering contact.

In the usual gowning procedure for operating room use, when a belt orstrip is used, a ready-to-wear sterile gown is put about a wearer,probably a doctor. For closely fitting the gown about the wearer'smidsection the wearer, and an assistant, grasp the end or ends of thebelt and pull thereon, causing the folds or pleats to open or extend.Once both ends of the belt have been pulled out to the proper length forsnugly fitting around the wearer, the ends may be secured by overlappingthem and firmly pressing them together to form a cohesive bond. In thisembodiment it is feasible that a portion of the gown generally under thearea of the belt or strip bear cohesive-adhesive so that the strip maybe cohered thereto for added stability of fit if desired. When ahalf-belt is used the end is pulled around the back opening and snuglyfitted around the wearer. The portions of the belt bearingcohesive-adhesive are then brought into cohering contact with an area ofthe gown generally under the area of the belt, which area of the gownalso bears cohesive-adhesive.

This means for fitting the gown about the midsection of a wearer allowsthe wearer to gown significantly faster since the tieing operation isnot involved. It also provides better technique since there are no looseends sticking out as a possible source for contamination.

From a manufacturing standpoint it may be less expensive to produce thana tunnel or casing arrangement for keeping the belt ends from flappingdown when the gown is put on. Furthermore, it is feasible for the wearerof a hospital gown to handle the waist encirclement fitting by himselfwhen utilizing embodiments of this invention and dispense with the useof an assistant. If a nonsterile assistant aids in the positioning ofthe area to be fitted to adjustably decrease its size, it may bedesirable that the end-most portions of the belt be covered by aremovable piece or tab so that sterile conditions are maintained.

The area encircling the wearers neck also has a plurality of portionsbearing cohesive-adhesive that extend circumferentially sufficientlyfrom the first marginal opening or portion of the gown and the secondmarginal opening or portion to provide an adjustable fit around thewearers neck. The entire circumference of the neck of the gown may bearcohesive-adhesive if de sired. When pressed together into coheringcontact, the area encircling the neck is closely fitted to the wearersneck. To make sure the back margin is closed at about the neck area, theportions bearing cohesive-adhesive may be on both sides of the gown atat least the margin areas (i.e. facing edges), or, alternatively, amarginal edge may be folded over sufficiently to ensure a closure whenthe portions are pressed together into cohering contact.

It is also contemplated that the wrist or cuff area of the gown carrythe cohesive-adhesive material at the lower arm, or sleeve edge. Thiseliminates the necessity for stitching on or otherwise affixing theconventional stockinette cuff. A plurality of portions in the area ofthe sleeve which encircle the wrist carry a cohesiveadhesive material ona surface thereof substantially continuously around the wrist in thedirection of the encirclement. The lower end of the sleeve can therebybe gathered or pulled in to adjustably decrease its size in saiddirection by cohering said portions. The sleeve end may be partiallydecreased in size in this manner before the wearer dons the gown. Afterthe gown is placed on, it may be desired to more snugly lit the wrist,or cuff portion. This is readily accomplished by firmly grasping thewrist portion of the gown and crimping it together around the wrist tobring the portions which carry cohesive-adhesive into cohering contact.The wrist portion will thereafter remain crimped, or gathered, with nolikelihood of pulling apart in normal use.

Referring now to the drawings, the embodiment of FIG. 1 shows a flexiblebelt, or strip, generally 10, having a first end portion, generally 11,a second end portion generally 12, and an intermediate portion,generally 14. Belt is integral with a gown, generally by being securedthereto as for example at 16. The attachment 16 to make belt 10 integralmay be by any conventional means, such as stitching, taping, etc.Portions l7 and 18 of end portions 11 and 12, respectively, are showncrimped or gathered to reduce the length of belt 10 sufficiently toprevent the ends from falling much below about waist level at the pointin the gowning procedure when the wearer first dons the gown. In thisembodiment end portions generally 11 and 12 bear cohesive-adhesive,which is identified in the drawings by the shading.

Turning now to FIG. 2, end portion generally 11 is shown grasped by thewearer and crimped portion 17 is extended to the desired length. Endportion generally 6 12 is shown grasped by an assistant, generally 20,with crimped portion 18 being extended to its desired length. As isshown in FIG. 1, end portions 11 and 12 may have tab 19 which can beremovably secured to the end portions or integral therewith, so as tomake an easily graspable portion of the belt. Preferably this tab is notpressed back against the portion of the belt containing thecohesive-adhesive material or does not itself contain thecohesive-adhesive material.

While it is common that an assistant aids a doctor in donning a surgicalgown, it is feasible with my invention that a wearer dispense with theservices of an assistant in this procedure and alone pull both endportions 11 and 12 to their extended FIG. 2 position. Thus my inventionallows the same gown to be usable both as an operating room gown and anisolation gown, with the obvious advantages thereof. FIG. 3 shows thewearer with the belt end portions ll and 12 snugly pulled around themidsection and ready to be closed, or fastened, in place. FIGI4 showsthe belt ends fastened by means of pressing the ends together wherebythe cohesive-adhesive material is removably secured to the othercohesive-adhesive bearing portions of the belt to form a firm, yetremovable, bond and thereby a snug fit. There are no loose ends to causea possible contamination problem. In one embodiment (see FIGS. 3 and 4)a portion 21 of gown 15, which portion will be generally under belt 10at about the waist level, may also bear cohesive adhesive to aid infitting the gown and keeping the belt at waist level.

FIG. 5 shows a half-belt generally 46 attached to a portion of a gowngenerally 47 at about waist level and on an overlapping margin. Belt endportion 48 is crimped or gathered to substantially reduce its length.The wearer or an assistant grasps the tab portion 49 to extend portion48 sufficiently to snugly fit gown 47 about the wearer. The gown has awaist portion 50, in the front thereof at about waist level, containingcohesive-adhesive. End portion 48 is brought into cohesive contact withportion 50 to provide a close fitting gown.

FIG. 6 shows an alternative embodiment of the waistfitting procedure ofmy invention. In this embodiment gown generally 39 has a longitudinalback closing with overlapping margins 40 and 41 arranged to have oneoverlap the other, and bears cohesive-adhesive material on a pluralityof portions, generally 43, elongated around the circumferential area ofthe gown at about the waist area. including the margins. The portionsare brought into cohering contact to close the gown at the back andreduce the circumference of the gown at about the waist to closely fitthe wearer.

Referring now to FIG. 7, back 26 of gown 15 has a first margin 27 and asecond margin 28 which is over lapped by margin 27 when the gown isworn. FIG. 7 shows no belt in place. Any waist fitting means may beused, preferably those shown and described herein. Neck area 30 of gown15 has a plurality of portions, generally 31, elongated around thecircumferential area of the gown at the neck area. The portions arebrought into cohering contact to close the neck margins and reduce thecircumference of the gown at the neck area. Both sides of the gownmaterial at neck area 30 may bear cohesive-adhesive. Alternatively,margins 27 or 28 may be folded back upon itself to provide a coherentsurface.

Referring now to FIGS. 8 through 11, gown 15 has sleeves, one of whichis illustrated here as generally 34, having a lower edge portion 35 ofsufficiently larger circumference than a wearers wrist that the hand andarm are easily inserted therethrough. This lower edge portion 35 iscoated or impregnated with or otherwise bears a cohesive-adhesive on aplurality of portions 36 elongated around the circumferential area ofthe sleeve 34 at about the wrist area. FIG. 9 shows one means ofdecreasing the circumference of the lower edge portion 35, as by pullingthe lower edge snugly about the wrist area and pressing the opposingportions of the remainder of edge portion 35 together to cohere them.FIG. 10 illustrates another way of fitting the lower edge about thewrist of the wearer, i.e. to achieve a gathered effect at the cuff edge35. This effect is achieved by bunching the portions of the lower sleeveof the gown and pressing them together whereby to cohere the surfacescontaining the cohesive-adhesive. FIG. 11 shows a gloved hand with edgeportion 35 snugly fitting around the wearers wrist underneath glove,generally 37.

The foregoing disclosure is offered for public dissemination in returnfor the grant of a patent. Although it is detailed to ensure adequacyand aid understanding, this is not intended to prejudice that purpose ofa patent which is to cover each new inventive concept therein no matterhow others may later disguise it by variations in form or additions orfurther improvements.

I claim:

1. In a hospital gown having an area which encircles a part of a wearersbody in a given direction and is larger in size than necessary toencircle said part, which area requires a decrease in said size in saiddirection to provide close fitting to said part, the improvementcomprising;

said area having means including a plurality of portions definingsurfaces elongated throughout said given direction of encirclement, saidportions bearing a cohesive-adhesive material thereon, whereby bybringing any portion into contact with another portion they will cohereto each other to decrease the size of said area in said given directionthereby adjustably decreasing the size in said direction from saidlarger size to the smaller size required to provide a close fit to saidpart of said wearers body.

2. A gown as set forth in claim 1 wherein said area encircles themidsection of a wearer at about the waist.

3. A gown as set forth in claim 1 wherein said area encircles the lowerarm of a wearer at about the wrist.

4. A gown as set forth in claim 1 wherein said area encircles the neckarea of a wearer.

5. A gown as set forth in claim 1 wherein said area encircles themidsection of a wearer at about the waist and said plurality of portionsbearing cohesive-adhesive are discontinuous in the direction ofencirclement and comprise a belt having a first end length and a secondend length and an intermediate length between said first and second endlengths. at least said first and second end lengths havingcohesive-adhesive thereon.

6. A gown as set forth in claim 1 wherein an ares encircles the wearerat about the midsection and another area encircles the lower arm of saidwearer at about the wrist. the improvement comprising:

said plurality of portions bearing cohesive-adhesive on said areaencircling said wearer at about the midsection are discontinuous in thedirection of encirclement and comprise a belt having a first end lengthand a second end length and an intermediate length between said firstand second end lengths, at least said first and second end lengthshaving cohe-

1. In a hospital gown having an area which encircles a part of awearer''s body in a given direction and is larger in size than necessaryto encircle said part, which area requires a decrease in said size insaid direction to provide close fitting to said part, the improvementcomprising; said area having means including a plurality of portionsdefining surfaces elongated throughout said given direction ofencirclement, said portions bearing a cohesive-adhesive maTerialthereon, whereby by bringing any portion into contact with anotherportion they will cohere to each other to decrease the size of said areain said given direction thereby adjustably decreasing the size in saiddirection from said larger size to the smaller size required to providea close fit to said part of said wearer''s body.
 2. A gown as set forthin claim 1 wherein said area encircles the midsection of a wearer atabout the waist.
 3. A gown as set forth in claim 1 wherein said areaencircles the lower arm of a wearer at about the wrist.
 4. A gown as setforth in claim 1 wherein said area encircles the neck area of a wearer.5. A gown as set forth in claim 1 wherein said area encircles themidsection of a wearer at about the waist and said plurality of portionsbearing cohesive-adhesive are discontinuous in the direction ofencirclement and comprise a belt having a first end length and a secondend length and an intermediate length between said first and second endlengths, at least said first and second end lengths havingcohesive-adhesive thereon.
 6. A gown as set forth in claim 1 wherein anares encircles the wearer at about the midsection and another areaencircles the lower arm of said wearer at about the wrist, theimprovement comprising: said plurality of portions bearingcohesive-adhesive on said area encircling said wearer at about themidsection are discontinuous in the direction of encirclement andcomprise a belt having a first end length and a second end length and anintermediate length between said first and second end lengths, at leastsaid first and second end lengths having cohesive-adhesive thereon.